Those matches were contested in 10 competitive pools as more teams secured their spots for the Weekend in Norwich February.
On Saturday at Ashcombe School, both the men's and women's Pool B teams were played out in the final involvement at the venue before the final round of fixtures at Kettering this coming weekend.
The Men’s Pool B was closely matched, with three teams each winning three and losing one of their four matches to all finish on six points.
The University Southampton 1 claimed top spot due to their impressive set difference of six, while the University of Sussex secured second place, edging out third-placed Exeter University by just a single point difference.
Royal Holloway 1 finished fourth in the group standings and Solent University fifth.
In Women’s Pool B, Exeter University showed their dominance, decisively defeating the University of Sussex, Queen Mary University, the University of Plymouth, and Royal Holloway 1 to take the full 8 points and confirm their place at the Finals Weekend.
Second-placed University of Sussex, won three out of the four matches and Queen Mary University won 2 and lost 2 to finish third.
In Leeds, a further eight pools were completed over the weekend, with Pools C and D (men’s and women’s) occurring on Saturday and Pools E and F on Sunday.
Women’s Pool C saw the University of York emerge victorious, winning all three group matches in straight sets to ensure they advanced.
The battle for second place was won by Leeds University 2 in a closely contested match against Staffordshire University, which went to three sets.
The West Yorkshire team triumphed in the third set, clinching the runner-up spot, with Staffordshire University and the University of Bradford rounded off the pool in that order.
On the men's side, Loughborough Students topped their group by a clear margin, conceding only 82 points in winning all four of their matches.
The key game was their 25-11, 25-20 victory over second-placed Keele University, who themselves triumphed in straight sets against the University of Leicester, who finished third.
The University of Bradford were in fourth spot and the University of Huddersfield in fifth.
The University of Leicester and Urmston Grammar Volleyball were evenly matched in Women’s Pool D, but the East Midlands side edged ahead, securing their position as group winners with a 15-6 victory in the final set decider of their head-to-head match. Urmston finished second with two wins out of three.
Leeds University and the University of Salford finished in third and fourth to complete the pool.
Men’s Pool D saw two North West teams claim the top two positions, with Urmston Grammar taking first place with seven points, winning three games and drawing one, against the University of York.
Liverpool John Moores University finished second in the group, winning three of their matches 2-0 but losing to Urmston, ultimately finishing with six points.
The University of York finished a close third, defeating both Staffordshire University and the University of Salford, who placed fourth and fifth respectively.
On Sunday, attention turned to Pool E, with Durham University demonstrating their strength in both the men’s and women’s sections as they claimed top spots and booked their place in East Anglia.
The women’s side saw a tight contest to finish at the summit, with Durham narrowly defeating Loughborough Students to end with the maximum possible points eight points and only dropping one set.
Loughborough, meanwhile, won the rest of their matches in straight sets aside from their clash with Durham.
They capped off their impressive performance with a dominant 25-1 set victory over third-placed Sheffield Hallam University.
The final placings in the men’s Pool E saw a nail-biting contest, with the final table standings coming down to the Durham University and University of Derby’s showdown for top spot.
The match was a tight contest with both teams taking a set but ended with Durham winning the game by just one point to prevail.
Leeds University Men’s 1 finished in third place with two wins and two losses, one of those victories coming against city rivals Leeds Beckett 1, whom they defeated in straight sets.
The University of Sheffield 1 and Leeds Beckett 1 rounded out the rankings of the pool.
In the final pools of the weekend, the Women’s Pool F saw three matches go to three sets, highlighting the fierce competition for top billing.
However, the University of Nottingham 1 emerged victorious, winning all three of their games.
Their toughest challenge came from second-placed University of Sheffield 1, whose match against the Green and Golds went to a keenly-contested third set, which they edged 15-8.
Loughborough Students 2 secured third place, with several of their matches going to the wire, while Bangor University finished in fourth place.
The men’s Pool F was a thrilling contest, where the standings coming down to the final match of the pool.
Both the University of Liverpool and the University of Nottingham 1 had won their previous three matches in straight sets, so everything hinged on their head-to-head clash to determine the group winners.
The teams shared the first two sets before Liverpool edged out the University of Nottingham by just one point, clinching the match and securing an automatic place at the Finals Weekend.
The University of Nottingham, meanwhile, like the other second-placed teams, will have to wait to see if their overall performance was enough to earn them a spot.
Sheffield Hallam University took third place by defeating both fourth-placed Bangor University and fifth-placed Leeds University 2.
Eight more pools will be played this weekend (23rd to 24th November) at the National Volleyball Centre.
Leeds images by Jon Cornish
You can check out all the results and table standings by clicking here.
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